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Toy Designer
Designs toys and games for children — from board games to action figures to educational toys.
Did you know?
LEGO was founded in 1932 by Danish carpenter Ole Kirk Christiansen, and LEGO bricks from 1958 still click onto the ones made today.
How subjects help
- Art & Design: Sketch characters and choose bright colours and shapes that children love.
- Engineering: Make sure moving parts work, snap together easily and are safe for small hands.
- Psychology: Design games that match what children can do and enjoy at each age.
- Business Studies: Keep making costs low enough that families can afford the finished toy.
A famous name
Ernő Rubik: Hungarian design professor who invented the Rubik's Cube in 1974, one of the best-selling toys ever.
Try it yourself: Design a chair for someone's whole day
- Count the chairs at home. What kind is each one, and what is it used for?
- Pick one person you live with and think through their day. What do they need while sitting: a rest, somewhere to put a snack, a lift in mood?
- Draw a chair designed just for them.
- Label it: what it is made of, any moving parts, its colours, and give it a name.
Industrial designers and furniture makers start by watching how people really use things, then draw labelled designs showing materials and moving parts before anything is made.
Adapted from Design Museum: Lesson plan: design your own chair.
Also try: Organise one drawer.
Known for it in
Denmark, USA, Japan, Germany, UK